Does anyone here actually like nursing?

allnurses Guide · Apr 28, 2019

Yes I like nursing. I enjoy the stimulation of meeting a caring for different people every day. It keeps me off the street and away from my vices and has, as a career, been very good to me.

Hppy

Sumdaymurse · Apr 28, 2019

12 hours ago, Hollyhocks720 said:
That’s kind of condescending, bullying is very real, and if a co-worker decides to target another, no degree of “getting along” will change that.

So I don't know because I'm not a nurse, but isn't it my choice whether or not to respond to such behavior? I imagine it would be difficult to work with someone who REALLY has it in for me, but aren't their ways to manage in spite of that?

offlabel · Apr 28, 2019

If people come here to kvetch and belly ache, more power to 'em. Better here than at work....

allnurses Guide · Apr 28, 2019

On 4/27/2019 at 8:21 AM, Sumdaymurse said:
Im glad I asked this question. I suppose I may have been focusing only on the negative aspects of nursing and becoming discouraged as a result. Its comforting to know that some of you still love or loved your profession in spite of all the challenges. Thank you all for your responses, much appreciated. ?

I would add that "nursing" isn't one job, it's many jobs. Not all of them suit every personality. I know that I have at times, and read posts from others here who have felt guilty about preferring a certain specialty or slow-paced vs fast-paced environment. All the best to you!

Workitinurfava, BSN, RN · Apr 28, 2019

I have to be real. I don't feel like what I am doing today is real nursing but I am willing to try and make it better. I loved nursing but it didn't love me back and that is ok.

Hollyhocks720, MSN, NP · Apr 28, 2019

39 minutes ago, Sumdaymurse said:
So I don't know because I'm not a nurse, but isn't it my choice whether or not to respond to such behavior? I imagine it would be difficult to work with someone who REALLY has it in for me, but aren't their ways to manage in spite of that?

Curious why you are in the forum if not a nurse, but you do not always get to ignore toxicity in the workplace. I am not talking about petty behavior, I am talking about someone bent on undermining you, damaging you in the eyes of others, etc. You can choose not to lash out but that doesn’t make the other person “get along” it takes two.

dbabz · Apr 28, 2019

I would also add that it may seem like people are miserable because this is where we come to "vent." This site is kind of like a safety valve. I think fewer people post when things are going really well.

Ruby Vee, BSN · Apr 28, 2019

On 4/26/2019 at 11:36 PM, Sumdaymurse said:
I feel like most of what I read about nursing and peoples opinions or experiences with the profession are more often than not on the negative side. Based on what I have read, I cant say I blame anyone. Short staffing, Violent patients, mean doctors, bullying coworkers and everything else that seems to drive nurses from the bedside or from nursing entirely within a year being licensed. I just wondered if their were still nurses out there who actually liked being one, and why?

If you're basing your opinions on what you've read, you're basing your opinions on the most negative people who write to this forum or other nursing forums, on the rants and vents from people having particularly bad days or bad weeks, and on people who have poor attitudes to start with.

Short staffing exists, and it sucks, but if you work for a good employer (as I have always had the fortune to do), it's only episodic and not chronic. No manager can cover for 12 nurses going on maternity leave at once -- so they do the best they can, and the rest of us pick up the slack. After a LONG week of picking up slack, even the most positive nursing-lovers among us may require a rant or a vent to let off steam so they don't choke someone.

Violent patients exist, and sometimes we need to vent about them, but if you and your colleagues have good team work, you get through the shift and the violent patient becomes a funny story to share on an allnurses.com thread or when you're all sitting around on a slow night telling stories.

Mean doctors used to exist, but by and large they've all been to anger management by now and realize that kind of BS isn't going to fly these days. There's one or two everywhere that have managed to squeak through, but take comfort in the fact that one day, they'll deck a fellow doctor and then they'll get arrested. Seriously, mean doctors are nowhere near the problem they were in the 70s and 80s. I've seen them get fired since the 90s. In particularly egregious cases, they get fired before they get sent to anger management. The other thing is, if you make an effort to interact with physicians as though they are just people -- which they are -- you'll get along with them much better. Some people (some nurses) just seem to attract mean people and in that case, it's because of who THEY are and not the "mean people" who are "always picking on them."

If you run into one donkey or "mean person" this morning, you've met a donkey or a mean person. If everyone you meet is a donkey or mean person, the mean person is YOU.

And as far as bullies go -- I've seen two of them in forty years. Bullies are not nearly the problem reading this forum would have you believe that they are. In most cases, it's just a one-off. Someone just had a patient die on them and they snap at the new grad who asked an extremely stupid question. (And yes, there is such a thing as a stupid question, but that's another thread.) Someone didn't understand your question and answered the question they thought you were asking. Someone was distracted and gave you an abrupt answer. Someone was legitimately absorbed in something important (CPR? Pushing meds at a code?) and you just asked them an extremely unimportant question ("Where do I find the specimen cups?" If that question is urgent, ask someone who isn't legitimately absorbed in something important.) Again -- if everyone you work with is a bully who doesn't like you, YOU are the common denominator and you'd better figure out what it is that YOU are bringing to all of these interactions.

Many of us actually like being nurses, but if you want to discuss THAT, you should have started a thread about why people like nursing rather than a negatively entitled thread that is going to attract people who don't like nursing.

Ruby Vee, BSN · Apr 28, 2019

13 hours ago, Hollyhocks720 said:
That’s kind of condescending, bullying is very real, and if a co-worker decides to target another, no degree of “getting along” will change that.

You're right. Bullying is real. I've found two bullies in forty years of nursing. Most of those who are most worried about encountering bullies seem to be the same folks who are most likely to engage in bullying behaviors. So I find that those who constantly complain about bullying are saying much more about themselves than the alleged bullies they work with.

KonichiwaRN · Apr 28, 2019

1 minute ago, Ruby Vee said:
You're right. Bullying is real. I've found two bullies in forty years of nursing. Most of those who are most worried about encountering bullies seem to be the same folks who are most likely to engage in bullying behaviors. So I find that those who constantly complain about bullying are saying much more about themselves than the alleged bullies they work with.

Believe it or not, I got bullied by a CNA once. Never takes vitals, never does anything..on the cell phone all the time.

And this CNA was basically the jester for the director of that unit.

Needless to say, I had to change units.

River&MountainRN, ADN, RN · Apr 28, 2019

It really depends on the day, floor, specialty, particular employer, compensation, coworkers, and region...I have a love-hate relationship with nursing.

I LOVE the SCIENCE of nursing and what nursing used to entail (at least as I've heard it from more senior nurses). I also love the rare moments where you actually get TIME to spend with your patients and can see the "lightbulb go off" when they understand what you're trying to teach them. I love feeling successful when I successfully handle a difficult situation or learn something new. I love the camaraderie of a good provider-nursing-UAP team, when we all come together for the patient or have each other's back. In this economy, it's a relief to not have to worry that I can't find a job or pay my bills.

I don't like how nursing has been dissolved into little more than another hospitality field, where "ratings/reviews" leading to profit are more important than the actual wellness of the patients. For example, I challenge anyone not to be frustrated when you're breaking your back solo (because your coworker called out...yet again...) on the overnight shift to change a 400 lb patient with multiple comorbidities who refuses to follow their dietary recommendations to improve their health and keep them from such frequent visits. You learn to laugh to yourself about the absurdity of the situation when you end up wondering whether the black speckles halfway up their back are soft stool spots or just more of the melted M&Ms that you already found down the front of their shirt and in the front of their brief, and then you move on. But then you end up feeling like damaged goods when you end up out of work with an injured back that can't 100% be linked to the job (so no Workmans Comp) and your employer is threatening to fire you because you can't come back for two months without lifting restrictions. Suddenly, after being the star employee, picking up extra shifts, working rotating shifts, being the favorite of the patients and helpful to your coworkers, you're worthless to your employer because you need to let yourself heal from the wear-and-tear that nursing put on your body and seen as a drug seeker at your PCP's office simply because you have an acute need for medication for your injury. On top of it, work and "know it all" coworkers then blame you for getting injured because "well I would've done things differently..." or, if a patient acts out, "What did you do to provoke them?".

Like I said, a love-hate relationship, but it pays the bills, it's flexible in scheduling, it's portable in location, and there are so many avenues one can explore with one degree/license. I can't think of anything else that I'd like to do that is practical to do at this time, so here I am.

Hollyhocks720, MSN, NP · Apr 28, 2019

12 minutes ago, Ruby Vee said:
You're right. Bullying is real. I've found two bullies in forty years of nursing. Most of those who are most worried about encountering bullies seem to be the same folks who are most likely to engage in bullying behaviors. So I find that those who constantly complain about bullying are saying much more about themselves than the alleged bullies they work with.

Can’t agree with that...not sure how you can know “most people” - not a fair assessment - especially when you’ve only seen 2 bullies in 40 years- but thanks for the feedback. Most of the nurses I work with are great. It isn’t always the nurses who are the bullies. Actual bullying is defined as an imbalance of power usually over a weaker or less powerful person who cannot escape it. Maybe your definition is different, but in social science, a weaker person is who is a bully victim not likely to be “engaged in bullying”